Review of Nuns on the Run (1990) by Jeff B — 20 Jul 2009

Nuns on the Run was a very funny comedy when I was a child, sadly it has lost nearly all of its' humour and excitement now that I am older. Eric Idle is a legend of the comedy world having been part of the Monty Python gang and Robbie Coltrane is another funny actor, both do their best with what they are given but really doesn't work at all.

The plot revolves around two small time bank robbers who want to get out of the game but they know they will be killed by their mob boss if they tell him they want out. They decide to pull one last job but it goes wrong when a girl Eric is seeing turns up on the scene. To avoid capture from the mob boss and his goons as well as the police, the enter a convent and dress up as nuns. It's an interesting enough premise but poor writing, a very low budget and dodgy direction mean it's largely a wasted opportunity.

It's incredibly hard to believe that none of the nuns notice they are two men simply because they throw on some concealer but this can be overlooked. Most of the jokes stem from Eric's character not knowing anything about the Catholic religion and from a Priest who takes a fancy to the two lads but they are few and far between. The "action" is very poorly shot and the female lead is very annoying and is part of an awful love story with Eric's character.

A mediocre British comedy that is so much better when you are ten years old.